Thursday, September 24, 2009

Gibson was quite the host! All he wanted to do was sit outside the restaurant and welcome everyone. I told him that they were there for him, so he kept signing "friend" to me, and pointing to himself, his way of saying "my friends are here for me!"

We want to thank everyone that came out and supported Gibson at Costa Vida on Tuesday. Both locations were packed! The owner at the Queen Creek location said that they had never been that busy. Thank you to Costa Vida, the owner especially, for allowing us to do this, and being so wonderful. It was a great night, good food, better friends, best family, and an amazing little boy! Thank you so much for coming and helping Gibson. We are overwhelmed by the amount of love and support we have gotten from countless people. We are so blessed and love you all! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Monday, September 14, 2009

Hey everyone! We have set up something super fun to help raise money for Gibson's stem cell procedure in a few weeks. Costa Vida Restaurant in Queen Creek (21152 E. Rittenhouse Rd. Queen Creek, AZ 85242, 480-888-7230), has graciously offered to give 20% of their proceeds from one night to Gibson for his treatment. All you have to do is show up sometime after 2pm on Tuesday, September 22nd, or even call in an order, and say "I'm here for Gibson Porter!" Me, Chase, Gibson, and the rest of our pack, will be there that night, around 6pm. We'd love to see you all there! Thanks for all of your support!

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

This is Gibson using what we call his "talker", a small, computer-ish, device that helps him communicate, he is getting really good at it, it just takes patience, for him, and for whoever is listening. About three weeks ago, his teachers at school told me that he has decided that he wants nothing to do with his talker anymore, and was refusing to use it. When he got home, I asked him why he wasn't using it and he said, (in only a language his mother would understand), "I WANT TO TALK!" That was one of the biggest deciding factors for me to take Gibson to the XCell Center. He has decided that he is going to talk, and we are going to give him that chance!

As some of you know, our second son, Gibson, was born with a rare brain malformation, called Perisylvian Dysgenesis and cerebral palsy. Basically, it is a condition that gives Gibson no control of his mouth, making eating, drinking, and especially speaking, very difficult. It also affects his fine motor skills. He has been working incredibly hard in his many different therapies over the last 4 years, with very little progress.Recently, during a church meeting, a good friend of mine spoke of her nephew, Harrison. The way she described Harrison’s condition, she could have easily been speaking of Gibson. My ears instantly perked. I was already feeling the spirit incredibly strong, being overwhelmed with gratitude towards our Heavenly Father for His hand in Gibson’s life. I knew at that moment, that I was supposed to listen carefully to Harrison’s story.Harrison has Cerebral Palsy as well. My friend, Mindy, spoke of a procedure that he had done in Germany, involving stem cells, and the miracles that have followed. Harrison is now standing, supported by his father, after being in a wheelchair for the majority of his 10 years.After much researching, fasting, and praying, Chase and I have decided to go ahead with the same procedure for Gibson. We have spoken to the doctors in Germany, and they have gone over, and over, his medical records and MRI scans, and have determined that he is a good candidate for the procedure.With every step we take in this process, I know with more surety that we are supposed to do this for Gibson. I know it will work. I don’t know to what extent, but I know it will help him. Some of the possible results are: decreased drooling, better swallowing, chewing, sucking, and best of all, speech.Gibson is one of the most amazing people I have ever known, and Chase and I feel humbled and blessed to be his parents. He has such a tender, loving heart, and such closeness to his Savior, it would be incredible to finally be able to hear what he has to say.Please send this blog to anyone you know that might be interested, especially any parents of children with special needs. This procedure is starting to be done on children with autism as well. We want the word to get out about this procedure, in hopes that it will come to the US soon, and the more publicity it gets, the more likely it is for the doctors here to want to keep up with Germany.We have decided to do whatever it takes to do this for Gibson. We feel that Heavenly Father will bless you “after all you can do”, we believe that this is a part of all that we can do for Gibson. Some have asked if they can help contribute to Gibson’s fund for this procedure. We this point are just asking for your prayers. We will be having an get together involving ice cream some time in October and invite anyone who is availabe to come celebrate with us. We have had some stubborn friends that have demanded information. There is a separate bank account for Gibson, and checks can be made out to, Gibson Porter, and mailed to: 18521 E. Queen Creek Rd. Ste 105-187, Queen Creek, AZ 85242.More importantly, we are asking for all of your faith and prayers. I know that with our combined faith, our Heavenly Father will help Gibson. I feel that our Heavenly Father is just waiting to bless Gibson, and is waiting on those around him to match his faith and show, through fasting and prayer, how badly we want this for the little boy we all love so much. No one deserves this miracle more than Gibson. We will be having a special fast on Gibson’s behalf on October 11th. Please try to participate in any way you can.If you would like to learn more about this procedure, take a look around the blog, or go directly to the website, http://www.xcell-center.com/ , or you can always call us at 480-279-1560 or email at brynnlarson@hotmail.com .We love and appreciate you all so much, and feel so blessed to have the amazing family and friends that we have. Thank you so much for your love and support.

Thank you!

We have been overwhelmed by the amount of love and support we have recieved from freinds and family. Thank you all so much, it means so much to us. So many people have been so incredably generous, that the entire procedure is pretty much paid for, that is unbelievable. Thank you all for your generosity, and most of all, for your fasting and prayers. We have the greatest family and friends on the planet and we love you all so much! Chase, Brynn, Nash, Gibson, Beau, and Mack too!

My Story

My name is Gibson Porter and I am a super hero, at least, that's what my mom says. I have a mom, Brynn, a dad, Chase, a big brother, Nash, a little brother, Beau, and another little brother that will be here soon. I have the best grandparents a kid could hope for, and alot of super fun cousins, aunts, and uncles. I love my family and they love me.One day, when I was still only 4 years old, my mom and dad took me to a hospital. I still wasn't talking, and my mom was DEMANDING answers, (she can be a little embarrassing, but no one fights harder for me than her!) The doctors put me in this funny looking tube and took pictures of my brain.Later that day, the doctor called my mom and told her that she was right! My brain was different. They said that I had something called Cebral Palsy, and a rare brain malformation called Perisylvian Dysgenesis (yikes!) I was already going to ALOT of therapies, to help me learn to talk and use my fingers, but it was nice to know just what was going on in my brain!I don't talk like everyone else. I have all the words in my head, I just can't get them out of my mouth! Sometimes it's annoying, but I seem to manage to get my point across most of the time, and if I can't, oh well, I'm still happy. I'm pretty messy when it comes to eating and drinking. My mom has had me try pretty much every cup and spoon ever made hoping that one will work, so far, not much luck, but I keep trying.I have a really hard time doing anything with my mouth, that even means little things like blowing and spitting, so brushing my teeth is not so much fun. I'm hoping that by my 6th Birthday, I'll finally be able to blow my candles out all by myself.My brain is different from pretty much everyone, but I don't mind. I work really hard everyday, to learn to use my mouth and fingers. You would think I would get really frustrated and mad alot of the time, but I like to be happy, so that's what I am.I love my family, friends, therapists, and video games. I love to go swimming and wrestle with my brothers. I just started kindergarten, and love every second. Thanks for visiting my blog, pass it on!